James Ramseur, 45, was found dead of an apparent overdose at 11:30 a.m. yesterday at a hotel.

Ramseur became infamous in 1984, when he and his friends Darrell Cabey, Barry Allen and Troy Canty, were all shot by an electronics specialist named Bernhard Goetz, who maintained that the teens tried to mug him.

The shooting took place on Dec. 22, 1984, when Ramseur, 18, and neighborhood pals Darrell Cabey, Barry Allen and Troy Canty, all 19, were riding a downtown No. 2 train.

As it approached Chambers Street, they encountered Goetz, an electronics specialist. What ensued is in dispute.

Goetz told authorities the intimidating youths demanded $5 from him. The teens insisted they were only panhandling.